SSE and Wheelabrator Technologies have been granted planning consent by the government for the Ferrybridge Multifuel 2 project in West Yorkshire.

The project, run by Multifuel Energy Ltd, a company set up for the project by SSE and Wheelabrator, will process up to 675,000 tonnes of waste derived fuels using municipal waste to produce around 70MW of electricity and is located close to the site of the Ferrybridge Multifuel 1 project.

MEL has invested £300m (€415m) in FM2 and will generate 500 construction jobs and around 40 permanent full time operational jobs. The project is expected to give £10m of supply opportunities to local businesses over the three year construction phase.

MEL operations director Tom Maillet said: “We are delighted that the Secretary of State has made the decision to grant planning permission for the Ferrybridge Multifuel 2 project.” Then added :

“We believe that the Multifuel 1 project, which is fully operational, and the Multifuel 2 project can make a positive, low carbon contribution to the UK’s electricity supply and help to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.”